Treaty benefits for company? U.S. Tax Form W-8BEN-E

Question

Created Jul ’16

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I have a newly created company (in Denmark, IVS), which sole purpose is to sell apps on the app store. I have created a signed up for the developer program as a company, and now I’m trying to setup the tax info. When I try to complete the U.S. Tax forms I run into some problems.

I pressed no in the two first check-boxes, saying that I’m not a US citizen or have any US business activities. Then I have to fill out the W-8BEN-E form, and I’m getting stuck in Part III, about claiming treaty benefits. As far as I can see, Denmark has a treaty with the US, allowing treaty benefits, but I’m unsure which of these check boxes to check. What happens if I don’t check them, will apple pay a certain percentage of my profit to IRS, which I don’t have to pay?

Anyone have through this process and have some tips?

See image of the form: http://http://imgur.com/a/3SYDc

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Answer 1

rosefrompeachland OP

Aug ’16

Did you find ut te answer to your question? I have the same one.. Except I'm from canada

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Answer 2

thomas.pintaric OP

Aug ’16

Here is what we entered in our W8-BEN-E form (Rev. February 2014) for our company back in 2014 (Austrian GmbH, but should be similar enough to a business based in Denmark):

Part III:

14 a [X] The beneficial owner is a resident of Austria (...)

14 b [X] (**)

14 c [ ]

15 The beneficial is claiming the provisions of Article 7 (*) of the treaty ... to claim a 0% rate of withholding on business profits.

Explain the reasons the beneficial owner meets the terms of the treaty article: no U.S. establishment / non-resident alien.

(*) Replace with the apprioriate Article of Denmark's taxation treaty with the US. (In our case, "treaty" refers to the "Convention Between the United States of America and the Republic of Austria for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income, signed at Vienna May 31, 1996.").

(**) Only applicable in certain circumstances, depending on what's specified in the bilateral treaty between your country and the US. If unsure, leave this unchecked.

2

Answer 3

nvMQ OP

Jan ’17

For anyone in need of further confirmation, I contacted Apple and they replied with this :

"Under our current model, application sales by non-U.S. developers on the App Store are not subject to U.S. tax withholding or reporting. Therefore, completion of Part II - Claim of Tax Treaty Benefits, is not required in order to certify your foreign status. In addition, you are not required to provide a U.S. taxpayer identification number (TIN) in Part I (line 8) when when certifying foreign status.

For more information regarding this, you can reference the Tax FAQ in iTunes Connect"

Most of the information out there seems to confirm that there's no need to fill Part II and get a TIN, but filled Part II as described by thomas.pintaric just to make our intention clear.

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Answer 4

tiw OP

Dec ’17

Hi did you solve this problem? I am also in the same situation, what to do about this form..

0

Answer 5

sleepwalkerfx OP

Sep ’20

15 The beneficial is claiming the provisions of Article 7 (*) of the treaty ... to claim a 0% rate of withholding on business profits.

Latest forms have a dropdown box to select 'Other' or 'income from the sales of apps'.

Should I still select 'Other' and mention its type as business profits. ? (since treaty talks about business profits, not sales of apps ?)

1

Answer 6

myrawitt OP

Aug ’21

Did u find a Solution? I have the same problem right know.... which option did u choose about the type of beneficial owner? I´m a solo-preneur.

thx

1